Pudsy & Twinkle Have Lost Another Owner

By Fred

Pudsy and Twinkle (or Twinkie, by some reports) are real orphans now. David Henton, the 72-year-old retired truck driver in Wales who adopted them while he was being accused of murdering his girlfriend Joyce Sutton, their mistress, has died.

Henton survived a 9-week trial in Sutton’s bizarre, still-unsolved bludgeoning death. They’d been companions for 30 years. He was acquitted in March, to the rejoicing of nearly everyone who knew him. One friend called him, “a gentleman and a gentle man.”

But they said Henton was never the same, a broken man. He’d suffered a stroke some years earlier and walked with a cane. He became ill Friday and was taken to the hospital, where he passed away from unknown causes over the weekend.

Sutton’s Persian cats, Pudsy and Twinkle, played a pivotal role in the trial, getting Henton arrested after police bugged his house and taped him supposedly confessing his guilt to the cats. Henton family members are caring for them now, although it isn’t clear who that is because Henton was single and childless.

Joyce Sutton had one son, Darren, who has also been a suspect in her murder. Darren’s wife Anna is suing the police for compensation for property she claims they seized and never returned. She was arrested during the investigation for “perverting the course of justice” by giving a false alibi for Darren, whom she has since divorced.

The police haven’t decided yet if they will ever reopen the case to find the real killer.

It’s a very sad end to the story. I hope Pudsy and Twinkle will be able to live out their lives together with a family who will love them as much as David Henton did.